Gordon Ramsay to cook up a Christmas storm

Ramsay, 42, will be joined by other top chefs, including Angela Hartnett and Michel Roux junior at the event. Visitors can watch them rustling up dishes in one-hour theatre demonstrations, when the heat will certainly be on.

"Cooking live is something we do every day," said Ramsay. "But we have to adapt the recipes to get them done within the hour, so there's all sorts of speed-up tips and insights.

"Doing it live every day with a brigade is a dream, doing it on a stage with your right-hand man is somewhat harder but a lot more enjoyable.

"And we're not going to turn round and say 'here's one we made earlier', that's what we've always been fighting for.

"It's of the moment, live, doable, making curried parsnip and apple soup, a beautiful fricasee of chicken and a really nice pear and frangipan tart - perfect dishes for Christmas."

The idea behind "Taste of Christmas" is to celebrate the best in festive food, drink and entertainment, including restaurants serving tasters of Ramsay classics dotted around the venue.

"I suppose it's along the same theme as 'Taste of London', but indoors," said Ramsay.

"It's an amazing collaboration of chefs in an amazing venue. We've got the restaurants changing daily for added excitement.

"Treat it as a sort of walk-around perfect lunch or perfect dinner. They'll be small portions so you can dip in to four or five restaurants at a time.

"We've got fantastic support from the purveyors as well, so it'll be a showcase for them as well, whether it's smoked salmon or our wine suppliers.

"And there's a workshop for wine/cocktail/liquer matching, any insights you need to combine the perfect tips for Christmas."

For Ramsay the work does not stop on Christmas Day.

He does a stint at his restaurant in Claridges before heading home at 4pm to finish cooking the Christmas lunch for his family, even though wife Tana is a respected cook herself.

He admitted: "I'm not very good at sharing with Tana, 'you peel the shallot, darling, and I'll chop it'. I don't think so?

"But Tana will start Christmas lunch, and I'll come in and finish it off, just in time for the glory."

And even the best of cooks have disasters cooking the biggest dinner of the year.

"Tana had one last year when the roast potatoes stuck to the tray," he said.

"[I was] halfway back across Battersea Bridge [from Claridge's] and I got a call from Tana saying the potatoes were stuck, she'd used a cold tray.

"I asked her did she drain them and she said 'no, not really'. The combination of a cold tray and water in your potatoes is going to make them stick like sh*t to a blanket.

"She said 'can you get some roast potatoes from Claridges?' but I said 'no, I'll do them when I get back'.

"I got back and got them done in 20 minutes but I'm not going to tell you how I got them done. But they were amazing, superfast and I saved the day."

Despite his fiery reputation Ramsay does look forward to Christmas, although he has his own ideas about why it often turns into a nightmare for people.

He said: "I think it's the sense of occasion and the pressure. Family you haven't seen for six months. I find that competitive."

And Ramsay's own "taste of Christmas?"

He said: "Cranberry. Making a really good, fresh cranberry sauce. It's delicious done with orange peel and a little bit of star anise."

Having achieved enormous success with his restaurants, books and tv shows, what drives this passionate man to keep cooking?

He said: "Three stars in Paris is what I want, then I'm one star away from my ultimate goal and my ultimate retirement. Three stars in Paris, three stars in London and then three stars in New York.

"And then I'm f***ing retiring."

For more information on the show visit www.tasteofchristmas.com.